I know some brewers use, hop bag, some pitch directly in to wort and strain, and others use hop backs. Has anyone ever heard of a "hop ball"? I'm thinking it would be kind of like a tea ball but larger...enough to hold an ounce or two of leaf hops. Basically like a reusable hop bag. I know they're cheap and all, but I'm just curious.
Hop ball?
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The only issue I see is that you aren't going to get the same type of extraction from an ounce of hops crammed into a small ball, as you would in just throwing the hops into the boil. Less hop surface area contacting the wort, and as they get wet and swell, the wort is going to have no contact with the inner hops.
abracadabra
Well-Known Member
I use them. Wal-Mart is selling them as a Mesh Tea Ball for $1.99 I've got 4. I've also made 4 out of stainless steel wire mesh sink strainers which can hold a little more than the tea ball. By the way the Tea Ball Wal-Mart sells are the exact same as the Hop Ball or Herb balls sold elsewhere for $4.95. I have been considering making a large one from 2 stainless steel wire mesh collanders. But what I got works so well that I haven't done it. I'll generally use 2 for bittering, 2 for flavoring and 2 for aroma in a 10 gal. boil. That's plenty for me but I'll have to admit that I'm not a hop head. They also work great for dry hopping.
Just don't pack them tightly and they work great. I suppose there's no harm in using nylon and a lot of people use cotton hop bags but I really like stainless steel.
Just don't pack them tightly and they work great. I suppose there's no harm in using nylon and a lot of people use cotton hop bags but I really like stainless steel.
Picked up a half dozen @ Wally World yesterday and u can't beat the price! They don't look that big, though...so is the concensus to use up to 1 ounce pellets/.5 oz whole leaf per ball?? Don't want to pack them too tight like McKBrew said. Just curious.
It really depends on the size. I have the "large tea strainer", and I can loosely put in about .75 ounces of leaf hops. I never tried it with pellets. Just make sure it fits loosely, no matter how much you use. It could be more or less than other peoples experience, since the might be slightly different sizes.
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Anyone have a link where they are located in the walmart website?
Nevermind found some on Amazon. They have Jumbo 3in ones on there. May try that.
Nevermind found some on Amazon. They have Jumbo 3in ones on there. May try that.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
Cost plus has big ones (around 4.5" diameter) for about $7 IIRC. I have a few of them that I don't use anymore. I should be set up for kegging soon, and may use them for hopping in the keg.
bionicrocky
Active Member
I just ordered this kit. With Amazon Prime it ended up ~$1.10 per ball. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IK21AJU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Will report back if anyone is interested.
Will report back if anyone is interested.
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I used to use them, but the hasp is kinda flimsy. I've had them pop open numerous times. So much for keeping the brew neat. I only use them for flameout additions now... if I'm out of muslin bags. The ones I got from my lhbs are about 3 1/2 inches wide and cost about $4.
I built a hop spider, and have never been happier. Search "hop spider" on this website for more info. It'll cost about $25 if you use the insinkerator collar. $15 if you go with a cheap one that you have to cut. As long as you tighten the clamp holding the bag, it will never fail.
I built a hop spider, and have never been happier. Search "hop spider" on this website for more info. It'll cost about $25 if you use the insinkerator collar. $15 if you go with a cheap one that you have to cut. As long as you tighten the clamp holding the bag, it will never fail.
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